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I remember having to pay for the exams 243 for cambridge and 38 for Cxc and I struggled to pay for it.....and here are kids who it paid....
Freeness Mentality' Blamed For CSEC Exam Absenteeism
Published: Wednesday | April 16, 20141 Comment
Jermaine Francis, Staff Reporter
Educators have blamed a mentality of 'freeness' for the large percentage of students who are refusing to sit the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations that the Government pays for each year.
With the examinations slated to begin tomorrow, they say students are not taking the value of passing these examinations seriously, and as a result, little or no effort is being made on their part to adequately prepare for the examinations.
"It is because to them the exams are free, so they find trivial reasons - as trivial as they may not like the teachers - to miss the exams," Jamaica Teachers' Association president, Dr Mark Nicely, said.
Nicely said this "freeness mentality has a debilitating effect because value is not placed on the opportunity".
Education Minister Ronald Thwaites last Friday indicated that 20 per cent of students who register for the subjects paid for by the Government "don't even bother to turn up for the exam".
Adding that the taxpayers were the ones footing the bill for these selected subjects and that they deserved greater returns on their investments, Thwaites said the onus was on students to make use of the educational opportunities presented to them.
The Government currently pays more than $100 million a year for mathematics, English language, information technology, and a science subject.
REDUCTION IN ABSENT STUDENTS
Heather Murray, president of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools, said while the figure was still too high, there had been a reduction in the number of students making themselves absent from the examinations.
She said one of the main reasons for students abandoning the examinations was that generally, they felt they were unprepared and would not pass anyway.
"Because I know I am going to fail, I don't show up to the exams." That is how Murray explained many students' approach.
She said there was the added dimension of parents and teachers telling students that they had nothing to lose, hence they should sign up for the examinations despite their lack of readiness.
"Parents and teachers encourage them to sign up simply because it is free, and then closer to the exams, the students realise they are not prepared and opt out of the exams, especially for mathematics."
She said parents and teachers must do more to encourage students to take these examinations seriously.
For Nicely, the country needs to adopt a strategy that will help students understand the value of education as students are no longer seeing education as the primary vehicle for achieving their goals.
Freeness Mentality' Blamed For CSEC Exam Absenteeism
Published: Wednesday | April 16, 20141 Comment
Jermaine Francis, Staff Reporter
Educators have blamed a mentality of 'freeness' for the large percentage of students who are refusing to sit the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations that the Government pays for each year.
With the examinations slated to begin tomorrow, they say students are not taking the value of passing these examinations seriously, and as a result, little or no effort is being made on their part to adequately prepare for the examinations.
"It is because to them the exams are free, so they find trivial reasons - as trivial as they may not like the teachers - to miss the exams," Jamaica Teachers' Association president, Dr Mark Nicely, said.
Nicely said this "freeness mentality has a debilitating effect because value is not placed on the opportunity".
Education Minister Ronald Thwaites last Friday indicated that 20 per cent of students who register for the subjects paid for by the Government "don't even bother to turn up for the exam".
Adding that the taxpayers were the ones footing the bill for these selected subjects and that they deserved greater returns on their investments, Thwaites said the onus was on students to make use of the educational opportunities presented to them.
The Government currently pays more than $100 million a year for mathematics, English language, information technology, and a science subject.
REDUCTION IN ABSENT STUDENTS
Heather Murray, president of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools, said while the figure was still too high, there had been a reduction in the number of students making themselves absent from the examinations.
She said one of the main reasons for students abandoning the examinations was that generally, they felt they were unprepared and would not pass anyway.
"Because I know I am going to fail, I don't show up to the exams." That is how Murray explained many students' approach.
She said there was the added dimension of parents and teachers telling students that they had nothing to lose, hence they should sign up for the examinations despite their lack of readiness.
"Parents and teachers encourage them to sign up simply because it is free, and then closer to the exams, the students realise they are not prepared and opt out of the exams, especially for mathematics."
She said parents and teachers must do more to encourage students to take these examinations seriously.
For Nicely, the country needs to adopt a strategy that will help students understand the value of education as students are no longer seeing education as the primary vehicle for achieving their goals.